... (from article)I
later learned that with a 50-yard zero, a .22 LR slug dropped 128
inches at 300 yards. At 500 yards, the drop was more than 40 feet!

I was frankly skeptical
until I started shooting. Resting the rifle on a Steady-Stix bipod,
I was soon dropping prairie dogs with regularity at 200, then 300
and 350 yards. I didn’t hit with the first shot every time, but
the low-recoiling autoloader let me see the puff of each bullet
strike. It was a simple matter to “walk” succeeding bullets into
the target. Even at 350 yards, it seldom took more than three or
four rounds to make a kill. It doesn’t take much punch to put a
p-dog down for keeps, and the little 40-grain bullets proved
adequate for the task.

For benefits of 100 yard shooting with .22
lr see:SHOOTING
TECHNIQUES AND TACTICS QUESTIONS
...Q:
Dear Sirs, This question may have been asked before and if so, I
apologize, but do you have any tips or practice techniques for
learning long range windage reading and corrections--WITHOUT
actually having a 600 yard range to shoot on? Is shooting a .22 LR
at 100 yards/meters a viable alternative? I just do not have any
opportunity to shoot at 600 yards on a regular basis. Any
suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Regards,
Troy H.

A: Mr. H. You hit the nail on the head
with your question about smallbore shooting at 100 yards. The 10 and
X rings of the American smallbore prone and the 600 yd. highpower
targets have the same minutes of angle dimensions. Also, the wind
will affect smallbore bullets at 100 yards and highpower bullets at
600 yards in a similar manner. So, the training you get in the wind
at 100 yards with a .22 will help you a great deal. As with any
aspect of shooting, the more time you can put in on the range the
better you will become. Good luck with your shooting.

This table shows (From www.larrywillis.com) the bullet drop of
Standard .22 rimfire ammunition compared to High Velocity
ammo. This information is pretty accurate, but it can
vary slightly. It depends on the particular brand of
ammo that you're using. Most .22 rimfire bullets
"appear" to be almost identical. However, some
ammunition manufacturers use bullets with a very slight difference
in shape. Even at the exact same speed, their ballistic
coefficient gives them a slightly different trajectory.

(Zeroed at
50 yds)

25 yds

50 yds

75 yds

100 yds

.22 Rimfire
(Standard)

40 gr. Bullet

1050 fps

- 0 -

- 0 -

- 2.25"

- 7.0"

.22 Rimfire (High
Speed)

40 gr. Bullet

1260 fps

+ .25"

- 0 -

- 1.5"

- 4.75"

Windage
Effect

The chart below shows how much effect that a 10 MPH wind has on
different .22 rimfire bullets. You would think
that the High Speed ammo would be affected less by the wind, but
that is not correct. Most brands of standard velocity .22
rimfire ammo will do a much better job at bucking the wind.

(With 10 MPH crosswind)

25 yds

50 yds

75 yds

100 yds

.22 Rimfire (Standard)

40 gr. Bullet

1050 fps

.25"

1.0"

2.25"

4.0"

.22 Rimfire (High Speed)

40 gr. Bullet

1260 fps

.25"

1.0"

2.50"

5.25"

The effect of canting your
scope

If you're searching for accuracy, this is an important item to
remember. If you tilt your scope when shooting, your
shot will land to one side of where your scope is pointed.
For example . . . . if your scope is tilted to the right by a
few degrees (this is easy if you don't have a horizontal or vertical
reference), your bullet will cross the line of sight (at about 30
yards), and go about 1/4" to the right at 50 yards. (end).

WIND:

Outdoor shooting ranges sometimes have wind
flags, positioned between the firing line (where the shooters are) and the
targets. Shooters observe these flags to make an estimate of wind speed,
which is then converted into lateral minute of arc point of aim
corrections or, alternatively, windage holdoff corrections.

The flag method is the most common method used to
estimate wind speed. A flag blowing in the wind will naturally blow away
from the flagpole, with the angle of the bottom of the flag to the
flagpole increasing with increasing windspeed. To estimate the wind speed
in mph, the angle in degrees between the bottom of the flag to the
flagpole at the mid-range position between the shooter and the target is
divided by 4. For example, an angle of 60 degrees between the bottom of a
flag and a flagpole would be estimated as a 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
windspeed. [1]

The clock method is then used to determine full
value, half value, or no value corrections in minute of angle for this
wind. Aligning the target at the 12 o' clock position or direction, with
the 6 o' clock direction being directly behind the shooter, winds at 3 or
9 o'clock are equated to full value, winds at 1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11 o'clock
are equated to half value, and winds at 12 and 6 o'clock are equated to no
value.[2]

The minute of angle correction (full value) is
then commonly estimated as ((Range meters/ 100) times Wind mph) / C, where
C is a constant. The constant C equals 15 for ranges from 100 to 500
meters, 14 for 600 meters, 13 for 700-800 meters, 12 for 900 meters, and
11 for 1000 meters. [3]
For full value winds, this full windage correction is used. For half value
winds, the minute of correction in windage given by this formula is
halved; for no value winds, no minute of angle correction in windage is
required.[4]

Multiple flags are required for two reasons.
First, the wind speed closest to the mid-point of range has the greatest
effect on the projectile. [5]
In addition, the wind at one part of the range will not always be the same
at another part.

Wind flags are not always actual flags, sometimes
streamers are used, small triangle flags, or even pin wheels. Factors such
as the range length and expected strength of the wind determine the best
type of flag to use. When no flags are available, a small leaf or other
small light object can be dropped from shoulder height, and the object is
then pointed at by the shooter; the angle between his arm and his torso
can provide an equivalent wind speed estimation as a wind flag, although
it will not be at the mid-range location along the bullet's trajectory. [6]

Wind flags are placed on the range between the
shooter and the target, and allow a skilled shooter to judge the amount of
correction that needs to be made to hit the target. Flags can be home
built[1]
or purchased. They generally consist of a wind
vane to indicate wind direction, and a cloth or plastic streamer to
indicate wind speed (the higher the wind, the greater the angle of the
streamer). Multiple flags are usually used, and they are placed at
intervals along the path of the bullet from rifle to target. Commercial
wind flags may also have a propellor
to help judge the wind at higher speeds.

The USAMU Service Rifle Team fields questions
pertaining to a variety of Service Rifle Shooting topics such as Equipment
and Ammunition, Shooting Positions and Shooting Techniques and Tactics. Go
to the USAMUShooting Tips Page
to view the latest questions and answers.

The basics of reading the wind still apply at the
600-yard line. Shortly after arriving at the ready line, you should
determine the speed, direction and value of the wind. The first task,
determining wind speed, has seen competitors arrive at the firing line
toting the latest in meteorological marvels. I submit that the human eye
and well-trained powers of observation are the equal of any overpriced
anemometer (a fancy word for a “wind meter”). The following list of
the effects of the wind and their corresponding velocity can be found in
the 1931 Service Rifle Pamphlet produced by the US Army Infantry Team. The
information is as relevant now as it was then. (Source: USAMU):

The best known scale for wind speed is that of
Sir Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), an admiral in the British navy who
drew up the first version in 1806. The Beaufort scale was adopted by the
admiralty in 1838 and by the International Meteorological Committee in
1874. Beaufort's original scale (from 1 to 12) was made for use in the
open sea and was based upon the amount of sail a man-of-war could carry
(Force 12 was a wind “no canvas could withstand”). With the passing of
military sail, later revisions focused on other phenomena observable in
the open sea and added correlated wind speeds.

By studding this scale and observing water, you
can estimate the winds speed with great accuracy.

Beaufort
Number
or Force

Wind
Speed

Description

Effects
Land / Sea

Flag

mph

0

<1

Calm

Still,
calm air, smoke will rise vertically.

Water is
mirror-like.

1

1
Bft

1-3
mph

0-3 mph: Wind hardly felt, but smoke drifts

Light
Air

Rising
smoke drifts, wind vane is inactive.

Small ripples
appear on water surface.

2

2
Bft

3-5 mph: Wind felt lightly on the face

4-7
mph

5-8 mph: Leaves are kept in constant movement

Light
Breeze

Leaves
rustle, can feel wind on your face, wind vanes begin to move.

Small wavelets
develop, crests are glassy.

3

3
Bft

8-12
mph

8-12 mph: Raises dust and loose paper

Gentle
Breeze

Leaves
and small twigs move, light weight flags extend.

Large wavelets,
crests start to break, some whitecaps.

4

13-18
mph

12-15 mph: Causes small trees to sway

Moderate
Breeze

Small
branches move, raises dust, leaves and paper.

Small waves
develop, becoming longer, whitecaps.

5

19-24
mph

Fresh
Breeze

Small
trees sway.

White crested
wavelets (whitecaps) form, some spray.

6

25-31
mph

Strong
Breeze

Large
tree branches move, telephone wires begin to
"whistle", umbrellas are difficult to keep under
control.

2 Bft - the flag is mostly extended, the waves are deep, a large
portion of the outer top corner flips back and forth.

3 Bft - the flag is completely extended, the waves are faster
and smaller than 2 Bft.

4 Bft and Up - the flag is still completely extended, the waves
are faster than 3 Bft. The changes from 4 Bft. and up are more subtile and
harder to distinguish from each other, but this is of little concern since
the choice is not what kite to fly, but whether to fly a kite at all.

1 Bft2 Bft3 Bft

These flags are 5 ft. by 7 ft. (1.5m by 2m) but size
makes little difference.

(If you are using Internet Explorer and have
javascript disabled then the flag animations are about 3/4 normal speed.
Netscape plays the animations at normal speed with or without javascript
enabled.)

End of information fromSource of following:
http://www.redwitch.com/extras/beaufort_wind_scale.aspx

======

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